MADERA COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) — Three-month-old Braxton Musselman is recovering this morning at Valley Children’s Hospital after suffering severe head trauma at the hands of his babysitter, now an accused child abuser.
Action News spoke with Braxton’s parents about the day they learned their son was found unresponsive by the family’s caregiver, 50-year-old Tonya Hamilton.
He was rushed into emergency surgery, undergoing two brain surgeries.
Medical professionals later determined his injuries were not consistent with any type of fall.
Swelling from the brain injury was so severe that surgeons removed the right half of Braxton’s skull to take the pressure off.
“Everything’s different with him. It’s like I had one baby that morning and then I came here and now I have a whole other baby,” says Braxton’s mother Tori Nelson.
“Our three-month-old Braxton can’t talk, can’t explain to us, can’t ask for help. And just to see him lying in the hospital bed, it’s tough. We haven’t held him for almost two weeks,” his father, Chris Musselman, says. “To not be able to console your child, it’s heart-wrenching and it’s something no parent should ever have to go through.”
Ten days after the alleged abuse, Madera County Sheriff’s deputies arrested Tonya Hamilton on felony child abuse charges.
She was later released on bail and is scheduled to appear in courton March 9.
Braxton’s family has started a GoFundMe to cover his medical expenses and rehabilitation. If you’d like to contribute, you can find the GoFundMe link here.
Click HERE for ABC 30′ video story
